Words on a Page, Pages of You

Who you are, what your values are, what you stand for…They are your anchor, 

your north star. You won’t find them in a book. You’ll find them in your soul. 

Anne Mulcahy

Choose carefully what you use to nurture your soul. So many words have been written, but not all are meant for you at this point in time. Examine what you pick up, what calls to you, and let the book that speaks to you, find you.It will, when you are ready.

A Stretch of Time and a book

During this time of year, many of us get to have a flexible work schedule. I was recently afforded that pleasure.

Starting your day without rush, grabbing that second cup of coffee, and just plain dawdling has to surely be good for the soul. I found things that I’d secreted away in drawers, and filed away piles of paper in a much more orderly fashion. I baked and then sat and read the book (that in spite of being informative and entertaining) I have been plowing through due to a lack of a stretch of time.

Then it was off to the local library, which still elicits the same thrill as it did when I was 6. I reached for the book that I’d put on hold, within its covers was the secret of attaching beads to wire and adding on some baubles. I could feel my creative juices start to flow just looking at it. In front of me was a little girl, the polka dots, stripes  and flowers on her outfit announced to the world that she had dressed herself that day. She clutched her chosen books and stood on tip-toe to place each one carefully on the counter for check out.

Accompanying her was her Dad, you could tell that he had the relaxed look of a dawdler. He waited patiently, as his little girl told him which book she wanted to read first, no maybe this one, no-no THIS one FIRST. Seeing Dad and Daughter was the highlight of my day off. I understand that they were headed home to read, and then I suspect that they both had a nap.  

Mischief

No great..er Mischief: and so lineage carries on. The misspelled words, quaint recipes and the tendencies to drink (too much). The succeeding generations cannot foretell when the unexpected red-haired child will appear, the crooked little finger (in my family often incorrectly diagnosed as arthritis), I see it in my one child’s approach to sleeping sprawled like a conqueror and in the other’s fascination in all things chocolate. Have you ever wondered at your musical ability, or a sibling's fashion sense, why is it that your parent still has the energy of a 20 year old?

I admire the lines that brought courageous people across turbulent waters, surviving unspeakable experiences involving food and toilet facilities and their stoic faces burying their loved ones. I see them turning their stiffened shoulders on windy cliffs and passing on that grace to the coming generations. The smiling triumph of mountains scaled, crops grown to harvest, and raging rivers forded. I wonder at their tenacity to not quit, not stop until the job was done. Give thanks for your great grandfathers and great grandmothers for they truly were “great”.

Read: No Great Mischief – Alistair MacLeod. Thanks to Christine for leaving this book behind in the staff room.

Start a Blog - check

So here I am on my first ever blog entry (is that what you call it?). Oh well, I will learn no doubt. A new adventure for me, and it's only the 4th of January.

Never at a loss for opinions, well goodgrief I am the expert of Me! am I not? I plan to talk about all kinds of Magic - magic that comes in photos I've snapped, books I've read, words I've been witness to and words I've put together in some kind of magical, poof! sort of way. And when you get to know me - I will even share about being single at 50+ and what its helped me discover about myself.

Cheers for today, but come back OK?